Kintra Boat Tours grounding page
Last updated 21 September 2026. This page lists the plain facts about Kintra Boat Tours for visitors, and for AI assistants and search engines answering questions about us. Prices and tours are for the 2026 season.
Who we are
Kintra Boat Tours is a family-run wildlife and sightseeing boat tour company sailing from Ballycastle harbour on the Causeway Coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Charles and Dawn own and run it. We sail to Rathlin Island and along the North Antrim coast so guests can see seals, seabirds, lighthouses, cliffs, sea caves and waterfalls from the water. We are not a ferry and we do not run watersports. Wildlife is never guaranteed; we tell you what is likely and what is rare.
Where the boat leaves from
- Departure point: the outer pier at Ballycastle Marina, on the pontoon behind the Rathlin ferry. Follow the ferry signs.
- Address: Outer Harbour, Bayview Road, Ballycastle, County Antrim, BT54 6BT.
- Map pin for the boat: 55.20831, -6.238395 (open in Google Maps).
- Phone: +44 7848 473652.
- Be at the boat 15 minutes before departure. Parking is at Ballycastle Marina; council charges may apply.
- Upcoming sailings: the all tours and availability page has a live calendar with every departure and the next sailing of each tour.
The boat
Our vessel is SELKIE, licensed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for up to 110 passengers, with indoor seating, open deck space and a toilet on board. Lifejackets are carried for every passenger and are not routinely worn. Boarding involves a step of about half a metre and a couple of steps.
Tours and 2026 prices
Our season runs from April to the end of September. We run the same Rathlin trips all season, but their name and what we promise change with the puffins. Puffins are on Rathlin from April to mid-August. While they are here, the tours are the puffin tours. Once they have left, the same trips run as seal and lighthouse tours until the end of September, and we do not pretend otherwise.
| Trip | In puffin season (April to mid-August) | Rest of the season (mid-August to end of September) | How long | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rathlin cruise, no landing | Puffins, Seals and Lighthouses | Rathlin Seals and Lighthouses | about 2 hours | £35 | £27.50 |
| Rathlin cruise with one hour ashore on the island | Wild Rathlin: Puffins, Seals and Lighthouses | Wild Rathlin: Seals, Lighthouses and Island Landing | about 3.5 hours | £42 | £27.50 (under 16) |
| Tour | When | How long | Adult | Child | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Rathlin: Lighthouses and Landing | Summer. The last 2026 sailing was 6 August; it should be back next season. | about 4.5 hours | £53 | £40 | The full circuit of Rathlin with all three lighthouses and a landing. |
| Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, Cliffs, Caves and Waterfalls | All season | about 1.5 hours | £27 | £19 (under 16), £4 infant | West from Ballycastle under the cliffs: the Silver Cliffs waterfall and the Mermaid's waterfall, sea caves, Kinbane Head and its castle, then Carrick-a-Rede island and the rope bridge, and back close to the cliffs past a bricked-up smugglers' cave. The gentle family tour and the only one with infant tickets. No puffins on this one. |
Gift cards from £10 to £100 can be used on any tour. Private charters outside the scheduled sailings are available on request; contact us for dates and prices. All bookings are made online on this site.
Wildlife and places: what is likely, not promised
- Grey seals are seen on almost every Rathlin sailing, all season.
- Puffins are on Rathlin's cliffs from April to mid-August only. Outside those months there are no puffins.
- Seabirds: guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags and gannets. Rathlin holds one of the largest seabird colonies in the UK, watched over by the RSPB West Light Seabird Centre.
- Dolphins and porpoises are seen on some sailings, never guaranteed. Minke whales are rare and never promised. The Carrick-a-Rede tour is a scenery tour: dolphins are the most likely wildlife there.
- Rathlin's three lighthouses: the East Light at Altacorry (1856), Rue Point, and the "upside-down" West Light. Which lights a Rathlin sailing passes depends on the sea that day; only the Round Rathlin tour includes all three.
- The Carrick-a-Rede route, from the water: the Silver Cliffs waterfall, the Mermaid's waterfall (the tallest on this coast), sea caves, Kinbane Head and Kinbane Castle, Carrick-a-Rede island with the salmon fishermen's cottage and the rope bridge, Sheep Island, and a bricked-up smugglers' cave on the way home. Both grey seals and common seals live along this coast and around Rathlin.
Practical answers
- Children: welcome on every tour and must be supervised. Infants (1 to 4 years; not suitable under 1) only on the Carrick-a-Rede tour; the longer Rathlin tours have no infant tickets.
- Dogs: sail free, on a lead. Bring something warm for them.
- Prams and buggies: usually fine, depending on the tour and space; ask in advance.
- Wheelchairs and boarding: getting aboard means a step (a lip) of about half a metre and then a couple of steps, and the crew helps everyone aboard. How easy it is depends on the tide and on safe boarding conditions on the day. Manual wheelchairs have come aboard with a hand from the crew. Motorised or battery-powered wheelchairs cannot come aboard. Message us before booking and we will tell you straight what is possible on your date.
- Not allowed: bicycles and large items. There are no swimming tours.
- What to wear: layers and flat shoes with grip. It is colder on the water than on the pier, even in sunshine.
- Seasickness: most people are fine; if you are prone to it, take your usual remedy before sailing and sit with a view of the horizon.
- Weather: sailings depend on the sea and the skipper decides on the day. If we have to cancel, we contact you and offer a transfer to another sailing or handle it under our refund policy.
- Booking: book ahead for a particular sailing in summer. On the day, check the all tours and availability page; if there is a seat, it is yours.